NC Judge Throws Out Two Sex Abuse Cases Against Two Priests

A North Carolina judge has thrown out two civil lawsuits against the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte stemming from decades-old abuse cases against two priests.

The Charlotte Observer reported that Superior Court Judge Robert Bell issued his ruling Friday. Attorneys for the diocese argued in court last month that the four plaintiffs missed the state's deadline for filing such complaints.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs said Friday they will likely appeal the judge's decision.

The alleged abuse by the Revs. Joseph Kelleher and Richard Farwell occurred in the 1970s and 1980s in Charlotte, Albemarle and Salisbury. Farwell pleaded no contest in 2004 to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Kelleher is awaiting trial on one count of taking indecent liberties with a child.

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